Drew left Connecticut to begin basic training at Fort Devens, Massachusetts. During basic training he received several promotions. After two months he was made squad leader and promoted to corporal and after four months he made sergeant and was given a section of four squads of 48 men. Drew had tried several times to transfer to a combat organization. Drew read about soldiers being needed for airborne training so he applied. His application went through numerous channels, only to be told that there were no training facilities for colored paratroopers.

After the Battle of the Bulge, battalions needed replacements; Drew applied for a transfer, this time it was approved. He trained in the survey section of headquarters Battery. Toward the end of the war, the unit was assigned to the Third Army Intelligence Center, for administrative and guard duties. Drew personally interacted with many of the German leaders who were incarcerated at the time—Hitler’s sister, Julius Streicher and Fritz Kuhn, the leader of the German-American Bund, to name a few.

Drew made his first blood donation in 1943, in England, where he was stationed as a young sergeant in the US Army. "The army was stocking up on blood, in preparation for the invasion of Europe," recalls Drew. But, two years after donating his first unit of blood, he found himself on the receiving end after an accident in Massachusetts. A bus he was traveling on turned over and burst into flames, after extricating himself, Drew freed three other soldiers and sustained burns on his hands and face. As a result of his actions, he was awarded the Soldier’s Medal of Heroism. Drew also received certification from the Guinness Book of World Records in 2000, 57 years and 212 pints after donating his first pint of blood, in 1943.

After being discharged in November 1945, Drew went to college and then to work at the federal government. In 1952 the war in Korea was very much in the news, Drew thought about enlisting, but decided to join the District of Columbia National Guard instead. Drew stayed with the DCNG for 13 years.

In January, 1963 Drew came across an article in the newspaper about the US Army Special Forces.  Three weeks later Drew transferred from the DCNG to the US Army Reserve. Twenty years after being told he could not become a paratrooper, because of race, he was finally accepted. But, before he could make that jump, he would have to provide two waivers, one for his hands (burnt in the fire) and the other because of his age. After overcoming those obstacles, Drew went on to make a total of 194 jumps.

Drew transferred to the 5th Psychological Operations Group, where he became the command sergeant major, until he retired. In total, Drew spent 36 years in the US Army. He was on active duty during World War II for three years, and then he served 13 years in the National Guard and 20 years in the Army Reserves. Today Drew and his wife Maria “Zelia” Drew spend their time reading, gardening and traveling, when Mrs. Drew is not working. They are the proud parents of one daughter and one granddaughter.